Starting a campaign to save the Salem Peace Mosaic will happen if community wants it

The Salem Peace Mosaic was created on the wall of a building on the corner of Court and Cottage streets NE between downtown and the State Capitol.
Capi Lynn, Statesman Journal

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The community is being encouraged to help save the Salem Peace Mosaic, created around the entrance to the Salem YMCA building, which is slated for demolition in February.(Photo: ANNA REED / Statesman Journal)Buy Photo

If the Salem Peace Mosaic is a community treasure as some have called it, it's only appropriate that if the community wants to save it, it should step up.

The mosaic is a playful hand-crafted mural that clings to the exteriorwalls of the downtown Salem Family YMCA.

The children's eye-level artwork is at risk of being lost when the Y begins demolition in February. The current aging buildings will make way for a new YMCA family center at the corner of Court and Cottage streets.

The city of Salem owns the mosaic because it was gifted to it, but it did not pay for the art. It was created in 2011 by more than 600 people for about $32,000 in in-kind donations and volunteer service hours.

The puckish mosaic is a big hit with kids because they can touch it as they walk by the 60-foot artwork. It is part of the city's public art collection, which numbers about 100 pieces, and is overseen by the Salem Public Art Commission.

Initial costs to save the cherished artwork range from $100,000 to $440,000. The city and the Salem Public Art Commission say they don'thave the resources to pay to save the art.

It's the wide variation in restoration costs that is giving many community members pause.

Lynn Takata is the artist behind the mosaic, and she is back in the thick of the save-the-mural project.

She doesn't agree with an assessment and analysis done by a Portland conservator who estimated it would cost between $350,000 and $440,000 to remove the work, transport and store it, and reinstall the mosaic. That's more than 10 times what it cost to create.

Takata says she's received two estimates, one from in state and one from out-of-state, that say the piece can be stabilized and moved for 75 percent less than the conservator estimates. That would put the cost at about $100,000.

"Both companies I talked to said they would need to do structural analysis to confirm their quotes, but they are considerably less," Takata said. "The mosaic is a symbol for Salem, and it's been very gratifying that people are stepping forward. Without asking, people are offering" to help preserve and protect the mosaic.

For its part, the city on Monday put out an RFP (request for proposal), hopeful that an interested vendor will step forward and outline what its costs would be. .

YMCA representatives will attend the meeting, and are expected to comment on national guidelines, which might prevent the mural from being sited in or on the new building.

Salem and the Mid-Valley have a long history of coming together to get the job done. When there has been a chance to benefit the greater public good, especially for families, Salem responds.

Salem's Riverfront Park Eco-Earth ball, Salem's Riverfront Carousel, and the Keizer Rapids Park Big Toy playground come to mind. The largest community build in Salem's history remains the Outdoor Discovery Area of the Gilbert House Children's Museum in Salem's Riverfront Park.

If the community believes the Salem Peace Mosaic is art worth saving, it will rally to save the trees of life, the animal and people heads and the river of glass running through it.

Carol McAlice Currie is the opinions editor for the Statesman Journal. Reach her at ccurrie@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6746.